The Road Not Taken
by YomisEyes
Summary: If there was only a way to take it back. Maybe his son would have mad a better life. It was all because of him. Because he refused to take the road not taken.


Spinner's End was a dreary town. Must dreary than others that had been placed there in England, as well. It was, mostly, called an industrial city, with smoke and steam filling the air at most times of the day. The people there were as active as people could possibly get. Some would come home from work at the factories at noon, and others would come home at around midnight. The people living on Spinner's end had gotten used to the activeness of the town. It was a fast life there, not at all like a city, yet it was never like a small town, either. Everything always seemed to be moving, and no one even took notice to any changes that had happened there.

And yet, the night had dawned upon the world faster than light. The lamps outside the people's houses weren't even lit yet, even though the sun was completely disappearing from this side of the world. Everyone on Spinner's End had given up and gone to bed, not wanting to worry about the sudden change in color to the outside world. That is, all but one brick-row house that was placed in the center of a long line of houses on Spinner's End. No one ever noticed the late hours that the lights were on, nor the randomly colored lights coming from the top window to the far left, nor the awkward smells that pained the lawn when they passed by on a walk.

The cold air fleeted through the small home's windows, chilling a figure sitting slightly to the left of the said window. The air blew through, and touched everything in the room: the threadbare sofa, the old armchair, the rickety table, and the walls lined with books. The silhouetted figure that was sitting by the window stood up slowly, clutching the table as he did so, and pulled the casement windows closed with a clash. It was then, Severus noted, that the lamp beside the table was not lit, and that the light that had allowed his ability to read that dark night was coming from upstairs, being fed through the wooden floor panels. He could hear footsteps walking back and forth, and then pausing by what would be the window in that room.

Sighing, the black cloaked man sat his book down, and walked through his dark, bleak sitting room, to stand in front of a tall, mahogany bookshelf. His hand pulled it aside, and it slipped over toward the next bookshelf. In its place was a large, cobblestone staircase that twisted and turned as it ran up to the second level of his home. He took one step onto the staircase and turned around to shut the door-disguised-as-a-bookcase behind him, just in case those of which he was hiding from had finally come across his residence – not likely – but he was better off safe than sorry. Turning toward the staircase again, Severus preceded to walk up the stairs. Once up there, there was a long, thin hallway. It could only, and just barely, fit one person in it. The insulation was falling through the ceiling, and the paint on the bricks was chipping off. Only three doors could be seen. One was the potion and reading room (which was where Peter would sleep on the days that Severus was forced to play host for him, not anymore), one was Severus's bedroom, and the other was _his_ bedroom.

Severus walked over to the last door, of which was painted white, but the cedar wood was starting to show through after all of the hard years that it had gone through. Severus's hand was brought up, and knocked on the door lightly. After, he could hear the shuffling of feet, and something being thrown into a box. With a swift motion, he opened the door, to find a boy of about fourteen standing in front of the door, looking innocent. His eyes scanned the boy for anything that would have said 'guilty', and then scanned the room for any evidence, but none was left.

"You are supposed to be in bed, Aiden," the ex-Potion's Master said with hardly any enthusiasm. He wasn't up for games tonight, and the boy was trying his patience to the point where it was nearly gone. He sighed, waiting for the boy to answer.

"Sorry," Aiden said finally, looking at his feet. He had known somewhere deep down that Severus would have found out that he was staying up. The worst part was, Aiden thought, was that he had needed light to do what he was doing staying up this late.

In that house, a rule had been made on the fifth of June – a time when the students at the nearby schools would be getting out for their summer break, and when Severus had come home from his annual vacation – that no lights would be turned on in the house unless absolutely necessary. He had been different that night. He had sweat dripping from his forehead, as if he had been running from something, or someone. He had acted quick; shutting the blinds on all the windows, turning off all the lights in the house, and pulling out the plug to the small radio Aiden had in his room.

Coming back to his senses, Aiden looked back up to Severus, who was looking down at him with a stern face. He blinked only once, and then sighed. It made him look as if he was a balloon, and someone had stuck a sharp needle in his thin side. Aiden smiled. That sigh meant that Severus had gone on his kind side – which he didn't do very often, indeed – and forgiven Aiden. And with a quick pat on the head, the elder man left the boy, telling him that if he didn't get in bed that he would be trouble, and that he was going to go back to his book then.

Aiden shifted and took off his socks, one after the other, and threw then in his laundry basket in the corner. He walked over to his small, twin sized bed and pulled the covers down so he could get in. He lifted himself up – and closed the small crack in the window that was letting cool air in as he did – and laid down in bed to fall asleep. He would go to bed tonight, and maybe tomorrow would bring light enough to work on his project some more. Tonight would just be too dangerous, as he would most likely get in trouble with Severus again. He didn't want to try the man's patience anymore. He knew when he was pushing too far, and now was one of those times. He knew when to listen to father.

* * *

A/N: This was a spur-of-the-moment idea that I had a while ago. It is, also, my first time trying to write a fanfiction that is longer than one chapter, so I'm going to have to have some motivation from you readers out there for more chapters! I hope you like it, and constructive critisism is fine. I'm anxious to hear what you readers think about it so far. Do you like the idea? Do you not? I want to know! Also, I want to know if you think this is long enough for each chapter. I'm not very good at those mile-long chapters like those good writers out there! 


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